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Light of Messiah Ministries
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Casey's Israel Outreach Journal 2009

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May 14? Maybe May 15?

I honestly don’t know what day of the week it is anymore. I just know whatever color shirt I am supposed to wear. Pitiful how old my mind seems sometimes! Lack of sleep will do that to you.

I don’t know much about how other teams did today although I heard rumors of more Jewish people accepting Jesus....just didn’t get to hear the testimonies tonight. That will come tomorrow morning. We were all too tired tonight to try to stay up for it.

Our team did a morning sortie on the campus of the University for Management in Rishon, I believe. We were doing surveys about Messiah and the prophecies about Him in the Tenach (Hebrew scriptures). Jesus was so sweet to us this morning. Most of the students spoke English and were incredibly open to sharing their thoughts. We had 22 conversations in depth about Messiah and we had many many who requested New Testaments and were interested in talking further about Messiah. It was such a calm outing! Thank the Lord! I was so encouraged by the students interest in considering if Jesus could actually be the Messiah.....they were open to listen. So so encouraging.

Then I finally got to be on the banner team! I love doing banners! Because our team was comprised of 4 women, we got the take the smaller banner, which I like better anyway....short and to the point. It says “Yeshu (which is what Israeli’s call Jesus: means “may His name be blotted out” which is actually a curse) = Yeshua (Jesus’ name in Hebrew)= Yeshuah (means salvation). So the message is Yeshu=Yeshua=Yeshuah. Simple and straight to the point. Then it has contact information at the bottom. One might think bannering is a relatively safe activity.....and it truly did start out that way, even though Schlomy sent the body guards with us (because we were 4 women, I guess). We thought they wouldn’t be necessary. Um, we were quite mistaken. We were having positive responses from the street intersection where we were holding the banner (on the sidewalk). The first sign of trouble was when someone threw something hard (felt like rocks when it hit me but I actually believe it was hard candy!) either way, it wasn’t pleasant to be pelted with it. Then the spitting began (I actually had spit running down my leg)....and then suddenly this white sports car pulls up, and out jumps this absolutely crazy young man. He begins with shouting, then phone calls. He is getting right up in our faces screaming and trying to tear the banner out of our hands. The body guards intervene, but this guy seriously would not stop. Then an Orthodox man joins in and they are both on us. I wrapped the banner completely around my body, so they couldn’t tear it up....and poor Iny was getting the brunt of the trouble once again. The body guards were trying to get between us and the two men, when suddenly a motorcycle stops and then that driver gets involved. Oy. Hello bolygon.....Motorcycle man and the sports car guy were wild but I just looked the orthodox man right in the eyes and I felt love for him not fear....I kept saying “calm down....shalom....shalom....calm down.....we are not your enemy....we are here to tell you about the love of Jesus....how He loves you....how we love you” and Tracey was telling him that we were mothers....wives....women.....and believe it or not between those words and direct eye contact you could see reason return to his eyes. He settled right down and tried to stop the other two.

There was no stopping the other two. They threatened guns.... knives.... reinforcements etc. Let’s just say for a while things were rather intense. Schlomy sent us our own reinforcements....all men....who kept watch over us....and we did not stop....and we did not leave. Instead, we prayed....we sang songs of praise and worship....and the atmosphere returned to positive and not evil.....cars were giving us thumbs up....stopping and asking questions....taking gospel tracts and books of John and Matthew....and nobody came back with guns, knives or reinforcements. Jesus is amazing and strong. He never leaves us nor forsakes us.

One might think, gosh....this is crazy....is it worth it? And all I can say is....if Jesus is true and He is the Messiah.....and He is the only way to God....then that means He’s for everyone....and that includes the Jewish people. And Israel is a nation of Jewish people. People Jesus wept over. People He never wanted us to forget.....He wants us to not forget to take the gospel back to the very people who have given us the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob....who have given us our beloved scriptures....who have given us our Messiah, Jesus! This is an entire nation of lost people who are dearly loved by our Lord! We prayed over them this very morning, with tears and weeping....for those who have persecuted us.....because oh, they are so without hope.

Is it worth it? As Paul says in Romans 9:1-4a “I speak the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit-I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel...”

Unceasing anguish. Think about an entire nation....without hope in Jesus. Lost. Without peace. Without forgiveness. We need to have unceasing anguish over this nation. There can be no peace in Jerusalem, as so many are fond of saying “pray for the peace of Jerusalem”, until Messiah brings peace to Jerusalem. And it begins in the heart of His people....the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Yes. It’s worth it. Don’t forget....don’t forget.

May 15, 2009

I actually did find out the date today!! It's the small things sometimes, yes?

The Shfelah region we are working to harvest is the site of so many spiritual, supernatural things.....it is the land of the Philistines, the Caananites, the Jebusites.....and their pagan history....it is the land we read of in Judges 15, in the story of Samson tying the foxes tails together and setting fire to the enemy grain fields.....it is the site where David slew Goliath....it is the site where Joshua fought his battle and the sun stood still.

I'm planted right in the middle of it. However, the spirit of evil that was in the land back in the days of the heroes of our faith, is still going strong today....and lashing out at us as we sow and water and reap in this land.

Today was a good good day though! We were so blessed. My team today had sorties on the Rishon/LeZion beach area in Pueblo. I was uncomfortable with the idea of beach sorties, because frankly, I don't like sand and I don't like being hot....how's that for being such a spiritual giant? Whine whine whine!

At any rate, the Lord wanted us to be there all day. He had people there we were to meet. Let me tell you about Vered.....a 53 year old Jewish lady who had lived in Israel for most all her life. I asked if I could ask her some questions, and knelt down in the sand beside her. I asked her if she ever thought much about Messiah....was she even hoping anymore that He would come? She was....she truly wanted to know Messiah....to know Him in her lifetime. I began to share with her the prophecies of old about the suffering servant (Isaiah 53) and many of the other prophecies that speak of Jesus. I shared with her how He loved her so much that He brought me all the way from Atlanta to meet with her on that beach....how He was reaching out to her and wanted her to know Him. We spoke of the sin that kept her from relationship with Him....how she'd rejected Him all these years. She wanted to be forgiven....she wanted to know her Messiah. I led her in a simple prayer to ask Jesus to wash her sins away....forgive her and give her new life in Him....to write her name in the book of life forever. After the prayer she told me that she felt chills and shivers all the way up her arms. She wants very much to meet with people here and become discipled. She was so happy. And I felt so humbled to have grumbled in my heart about the sand! Could I be any more petty than that? Obviously, yes. But I don't want to be.

We all had great sorties today, with only one team ending up trying to escape the religious and ending up in the police station again. This time however, one man threatened that team right in the hearing of the police, and there was no way to deny it....or to say it was our fault. Now, we are beginning to have a leg to stand on with the police. That's a praise.

We sent a team out last night to sortie the nightclub scene. One young man told Dawn that he had heard that we were all over the place! He said the reason he had heard of us was the religious leaders in Rehovet were combing the streets with megaphones and loudspeakers warning everyone to beware the Messianic Jews were everywhere......this ended up working against them in this instance because the guy was so blown away to find a team on the nightclub circuit that he ended up giving his contact information so that he could find out more information!!! I find this so funny.

Here are our newest stats, as of yesterday (doesn't include today- ie: Vered's decision for Jesus and any others from today)

304 Unsaved Jewish people who have given their contact information so they can find out more about Jesus.

7 Jewish decisions for Jesus
2 Gentile decisions for Jesus

17,655 gospel tracts given out
1396 door to door visits with literature/478 resulted in actual conversations with gospel presented.
2921 telephone numbers dialed to offer Hebrew New Testaments/804 of which were given the gospel over the phone.

We had our Shabbat Dinner and service tonight and it was such a joyous celebration. One, we are all alive!!! Two, oh my goodness what a week! Three, how God has blessed us and oh, we went on and on with praises! We prayed over our wounded missionaries and there wasn't a dry eye in the place. We prayed for those who persecuted us and wept for their souls.

John 15:18-27
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as it's own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you "no servant is greater than his master". If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of My name, for they do not know the One Who sent Me....

I will leave you to read the rest of that passage on your own....but Lord have mercy on them......have mercy. Our battles here are not against flesh and blood....and the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Prayer is our weapon. Love is our tool. Jesus is our message. We consider it privilege to share in the joy of knowing Him in His fullness and His suffering. Shabbat Shalom.....

May 17th, 2009

I'm tired. What began as an incredible Shabbat Day of rest and touring some of the land turned into a nightmare.

I was so blessed to be able to go to Quomron, En Gedi, Jericho, the Dead Sea, and the Old City in Jerusalem yesterday. I saw amazing sites that bring my beloved Scriptures to life. In fact, they make me want to cry because I feel so close to Jesus and Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets of old when I walk where they walked and see sites they saw. I put my feet in the pools and waterfalls of En Gedi, where David hid out from King Saul.....I saw where a Bedouin shepherd boy found the caves that hid the Dead Sea Scrolls for so many centuries, where the Essenes kept them protected.....I saw where the walls fell in Jericho.....I saw where ancient Sodom and Gomorrah were......and I went this year to the Church of the Holy Seplechur which is said to also house Golgotha, the tomb of Jesus and where His cross stood......last year I went to the Garden Tomb, which seems a more peaceful and less commercial site....but either way, the reverence for Jesus there is so palpable it is a blessing to behold.

Tom, Steve, Igor and I toured these places and more....and it was precious. We were at the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) as Shabbat was nearing an end.....we were tired and so hot (in En Gedi and Dead Sea yesterday it was over 100 degrees...not my favorite weather!) We decided to head out for dinner in Jerusalem, and were leaving through the Zion Gate in the Old City. As we were walking out.....I heard some Russian to my right....I turned to see a Russian couple who were walking beside us. I smiled at them and wished them "Dobre Veyecher" (good evening). They smiled back and thanked me......Igor too, heard them and as we walked, they seemed to keep looking our way. Igor decided to approach them about Jesus, despite the fact that really.....in Jerusalem on Shabbat it is not necessarily the safest place for that.

A long story short, Igor was able to lead Sima (Jewish) and her husband Gregory (Gentile) to the Lord that Shabbat night, as we left the Western Wall and departed through the Zion Gate. It was an incredible praise....and a sweet ending to the day. Or so I thought.

During our dinner, I began getting some panicked phone calls from my family. Someone was chatting online with my 15 year old daughter pretending to be me, and telling her I was in trouble.....in London on emergency and had been robbed and was in a serious state. She was terribly scared and upset. My husband was terribly upset. Even longer story short.....the enemy had found a way to attack me through the internet it would seem. A hacker had found his way into my email accounts and was writing to my family, my parents, my friends, my prayer team with this tale of woe and asking for money from everyone. He locked me out of all my accounts and changed all my passwords. While I don't know the full extent of any damage he may have done to my personal information (HUGE PRAYER REQUEST), the computer technician we have on JFJ staff in Israel, was able to re-access my accounts, disable some and secure others.

However, I had a very late late night of trying to do damage control and then had many texts and calls into the late night here from concerned people about my safety. Suffice it to say, I was up most of the night. We had a very early morning sortie, which I have had to miss out on, to continue damage control this morning.

The enemy tried to ruin my beautiful Shabbat....and has managed to steal away my opportunity to share the gospel this morning....but he can't steal my joy, nor can he keep me from my call for long today. I will not be moved.

Please please, my precious watchmen on the walls.......pray without ceasing for us here.....we are all under attack in so many different ways it can become dizzying. But we can't lose our focus. Souls are being saved....precious Jewish souls and that infuriates our enemy. We are making inroads into a dark territory where he has had control for centuries.....and he is lashing out in any way he can. We can't afford to lose focus and we can't be stopped. Cover us with prayer thoroughly, please.

The work is too important. I just want to assure all of you who may have heard from this evil one about me, that I am safe, I do not need you to wire money to me....I am not in London, I have not been robbed and I am not stranded.

I am, however, very tired....and very sad. I feel violated in a way....and that my family and all of you were violated right along with me. Pray I can shake this off and continue on all the more passionately and boldly and pray that I and our team here....will be protected from head to toe, in every aspect of our lives. Pray our families back home will also be protected from the evil one.

I can't thank you enough for your stand with me....with all of us.

May 18, 2009

We just finished a nearly two hour time of prayer, and weeping and worshipping together. We had to take a moment and stop. We did not do our evening phone calling....too much both good and bad and we had to take a moment to stop and pray and seek the Lord.

There have been amazing miracles. Igor walks onto a street here early in the morning to begin his sortie. A man approaches him. He’d been sick in the hospital and felt God had healed him and taken care of him. He said he’d been praying for God to truly show Himself to him, and when he saw Igor, he knew God had answered his prayers. He eagerly gave his heart to his Jewish Messiah, Jesus.....

Sergio and his team were bannering. Hasidim came and began to harass as usual. Police came as they were surrounded. Police protected (miracle) and told the attackers that we were allowed to do what we were doing and they were the ones breaking the law! But they allowed them to set up something to offset our banners. They came with large umbrellas to cover banner and put them right in front of us. Sergio and the team stood on the railings to raise Jesus name higher.....the Hasidim began to shout....Sergio told them that they could do what they wanted but they couldn’t stop the name of Jesus being lifted up. BTW, this banner says in Hebrew "Jesus, King of the Jews!" Then he told them where they could find that scripture in their own Bible, the Tenach. They became so alarmed, they put down the umbrellas, packed up and left!!! Halleluia!

Rachel and her team were detained at the police station for three hours yesterday for passing out tracts. While they waited patiently, Rachel began to ease into sharing with the officer nearby. For three hours she shared the gospel of Jesus with him, he read some of the tracts and even returned them to the team after they were released. He assured them he had counted them for them and all were returned as they came in!!!

Tracey and her team were attacked in the park by a Pacok and an orthodox lady. Within moments, the team was surrounded by angry orthodox. The police arrived at the exact same time, staving off more physical harm than pushing, shoving, scratching and shouting. No one had called them....they just showed up and protected our team. However, the Pacok and the lady accused Tracey and Bimini of accosting them and beating them up! So, the team did have to go to the police station (we have been in every one of them in the region by this time!) Tzaki and Tracey have now been banned from the city of Rishon for 7 days, even though they did nothing wrong. Tzaki was able to sow the gospel and Jesus name into the answer to every question on the police report and the gospel along with scripture was recorded in the official record!!! There are many other cities for us to go to, that those two being banned for one week doesn’t actually affect the campaign.....they can dust off their feet and go on. And someone else from our team will be there tomorrow just as usual.

Our team (Tom, Steve, myself, Aaron and Vova in the morning and Tom, Steve, myself and Igor in the afternoon) were in Rishon early, where our sortie went smooth as silk. We got out many tracts and received several contacts for follow up. Then we were to go sortie Rehovet. We decided since no team really lasted in that city for very long, to make the most of every opportunity. We did sweeps up and down the street, and with Tom and Aaron doing some impromptu street preaching as well. An orthodox young man grabbed a gospel tract and ran into the nearby synagogue. This is a sign of big trouble to come to anyone here in Israel....within moments, the synagogue emptied out with all the men coming against them. On our side of the street, Steve, Vova and myself took shelter in a shop where the keeper was gracious enough to hide us. When our side of the street was clear, Tom had phoned us and told us to cover our shirts, get to the car and meet him and Aaron at the mall. They had to grab a taxi to escape the mob. We escaped to our car and went to meet them. The Hasidim had men on every corner looking for us. We couldn’t get into the mall area at all. We finally made a fast stop in the street to grab them into our car and made our final escape from there. Total gospel tracts out for these two outings....1000! With two contacts and many conversations, despite the mob.

Our last sortie of today consisted of bannering. Tom, Steve, myself and Igor went to our assigned banner spot. Chabadniks (a branch of the Hasidim) had taken over every intersection we tried to go to. We ended up in the bannering site I was at previously last week. Unfortunately, a Chabadnik had stalled his car on the other side of the highway. He came over to us and began his abuse....cursing, threatening....called the police. We told him he was welcome to call the police, we were not doing anything wrong. And I shared the gospel with him at least 3 times during his tirade. He kept opening the door for it, and I went through it. When under persecution, it seems more and more that we cannot be silent.....the gospel message just comes flowing out in great power.....it wells up within, in the most amazing manner ever!! He became frustrated, but his tow truck had arrived and he had to go back to his car. Not to be set back in his plan, he flagged down a random motorcycle with two riders. He incited them against us and they apparently picked up several very large rocks and sped over to us and began throwing rocks at Steve , the banner, the team. We were protected by some incredibly bad aim, or perhaps the Lord? I got out my camera and caught their license plate, and even pictures of one with rock in hand!! Police arrived, Chabadnik backup arrived.....major bolygon ensued. Now, tomorrow my team has to go down to the police station to answer questions and file a report. We were followed to our car by angry Chabadnikim, but I kept taking their pictures and even their license plate for our report tomorrow. We managed to lose them on a circuitous route back to Ne’ve Shalom.

What you didn’t know is, because of the bolygon, people were pulling their cars over and asking us questions.....wanting the number to call to find out about Jesus....wanting to take our tracts....Tom finally had to tell them that they needed to stay in their cars, keep driving and just call the office to find out more about Jesus. This infuriated the Chabad attackers! But you can see how the Lord works all for good!!!

We have distributed over 22,000 gospel tracts despite being in the police station at least once a day by one team or another. We have now prayed with 11 Jewish people to receive the Lord. We have spoken to thousands over the phone, offering New Testaments and knocked on the doors of and left literature at almost 4000 residences!

Tomorrow, we begin to look at new strategies designed to maximize our effectiveness and minimize our amount of time being beaten and in the police stations. I don’t know how we will do it, but with two hours of prayer tonight....it seems we are beginning the right way. We are one as a team....with a single focus, sharing the gospel of Jesus the Jewish Messiah with the Lost Sheep of Israel. Ezekial was chosen by God for the same task, and given the warning that while he was being sent to them, his message would be rejected. However, he was to bring the message to the people anyway. If he didn’t their blood would be on him. If he did and they didn’t repent, their blood was on their own head and they were without excuse. We seem daily to share the same experiences as the prophets of old....and as the apostles of Jesus. And yet, I seem some of the most amazing men and women of courage before me....going forth each day, each sortie, with each phone call, crucifying self preservation and pride, and boldly and with great love and compassion towards those who persecute us, to share the Hope we have in Jesus with them.

It’s the most amazing show of faith in action I have ever witnessed or been a part of. The day I was on the beach sorties, Tzaki was on our team. We were all sharing on the beach with all our hearts. We have a picture of Tzaki, surrounded by about 12 young men, all listening to him sharing the gospel with them. No one was angry. In fact, a few more would come and sit and listen...then a few more. And it so reminded me of the stories of Jesus Himself....preaching and people listening. Many Jews in Israel are open to the gospel and it is thrilling to see them wanting to know more. It’s just a violent few who are working hard against us. But, again the Biblical parallels are striking.

With all my heart, I want no one’s blood on my head......if they don’t find their Messiah, it will not be for lack of sharing on my part.

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